LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OP 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


QUAKES  QUIDDITIES; 


FRIENDS    IN    COUNCIL 


Colloqug. 


The  primal  duties  shine  aloft  —  like  stars ; 
The  charities  that  soothe  and  heal  and  bless 
Are  scattered  at  the  feet  of  man  —  like  flowers. 

THE  EXCURSION. 


BOSTON: 

CROSBY,  NICHOLS,  LEE,  AND  COMPANY, 

117,  WASHINGTON  STREET. 

1860. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED    BY    JOHN   WILSON    AND    SON 

2J,    SCHOOL    STSIIT. 


to  %  JsUumni 


YEARLY-MEETING     SCHOOL, 


PROVIDENCE 


BY   AN   UNDERGRADUATE. 


PREFACE. 


THE  following  pages  are  given  to  the  public  without 
the  sanction  of  the  Meeting  for  Sufferings.  Had  the 
manuscript  been  submitted  to  the  censorship  of  that 
body,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  its  publication  would 
have  been  suffered. 

The  course  I  have  taken  being  contrary  to  discipline, 
I  have  thought  it  proper  to  send  out  my  little  book 
without  the  writer's  name  on  the  titlepage.  I  have  no 
fear  of  disownment,  should  I  be  known  as  the  offender. 
My  age  would  prevent  that ;  as,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  I 
am  still  an  infant :  but  I  am  by  no  means  sure  that  a 
punishment  more  in  accordance  with  schoolroom  usages 
would  not  follow. 

I  hope  no  one  who  reads  what  I  have  written  will 
receive  an  impression  that  there  is  a  shade  of  disrespect 
intended  towards  the  Society  of  Friends.  A  member  by 
birthi'ight,  my  associations  with  them  have  always  been 
of  the  most  intimate  character.  I  respect  them  as  a 
body.  I  have,  from  conviction,  adopted  their  princi- 


6  PHI-FACE. 

pies  ;  and  many  if  not  most  of  their  usages  have,  in  my 
opinion,  the  sanction  of  experience  and  sound  reason. 
But,  although  I  am  an  undergraduate,  I  am  old  enough 
to  think  and  judge  for  myself.  In  the  colloquy  which 
follows,  some  of  my  thoughts  and  opinions  are  re 
corded. 

What  is  contained  in  the  following  pages  has  nothing 
to  do  with  prize-essayism.  After  it  was  written,  I  was 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  hundred-guinea  offer  had 
produced  a  baker's  dozen  of  books,  each  one  of  which 
was  considered  by  the  writer  conclusive  as  an  answer 
to  the  question,  "Why  is  Quakerism  declining?"  As 
near  as  I  can  find  out  by  a  cursory  examination  of  these 
"essays  to  do  "  the  hundred-guinea  job  successfully,  Qua 
kerism  is  declining  because  it  is  Quakerism,  and  not  Epis- 
copalianism,  Methodism,  or  Mormonism.  '<  Most  lame 
and  impotent  conclusion  !"  one  is  prompted  to  exclaim, 
in  view  of  the  result  of  this  speculative  operation  in  the 
article  of  Quakerism.  There  is  a  decrease  of  the  num 
ber  of  names  on  the  rolls  of  the  monthly  meetings;  and 
why?  Why?  because  Quakerism  is  not  Mormonism : 
if  it  were,  the  number  would  increase. 

The  only  questions  which  have  any  vitality  in  them, 
connected  with  the  admitted  fact  of  the  decline  of  Qua 
kerism,  are,  "  Is  it  worth  saving  ?  "  "  Can  it  be  saved  ?  " 


PREFACE.  < 

"How  can  it  be  saved?"  One  thing  is  sure:  it  must 
show  its  right  to  a  distinctive  place  in  the  world's  civili 
zation  by  something  more  significant  and  progressive 
than  a  formless  method  in  its  meetings  and  a  uniform  cos 
tume.  Its  negations  cannot  give  it  a  longer  lease  of  life. 
It  must  in  some  way  grapple  with  the  world,  and  show 
its  potency  by  helping  the  world  onward.  The  world  is 
demanding  aid  from  every  organization  that  has  for  its 
object  the  inculcation  of  moral  and  religious  truth.  It 
is  not  satisfied,  it  should  not  be  satisfied,  with  the  plea 
of  self-preservation.  It  seems  to  me  that  Quakerism  is 
dying  of  isolation.  But  these  questions  are  too  mighty 
to  be  mooted  in  a  preface  to  a  pamphlet. 

PKOVIDEXCE,  R.I.,  5rno.  21,  1SGO. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 


FRIENDS   IN    COUNCIL. 


Friends:    SAMUEL    BONUS   and  JEREMIAH   AUSTEN- 


JEREMIAH. 

OH  !  this  is  mournful.     Samuel,  does  thee  know, 
That,  from  our  fathers'  land  beyond  the  sea,  — 
The  land  of  Fox,  of  BARCLAY,  and  of  PENX,  — 
Tidings  have  come  of  breaches  wide  and  deep 
In  the  defences  which  so  long  have  kept 
Our  Zion  safe  and  separate  from  the  world  ? 

SAMUEL. 

A  rumor  reached  me,  that  our  Friends  proposed, 
In  things  of  discipline,  some  little  change. 

JEREMIAH. 

Some  little  change  ?    Dost  say,  some  little  change  ? 
A  little  change  !     The  pillars  twain,  so  long 


12  QrAKi;i; 


The  chief  support  of  all  our  sect  holds  clear, 


Are  tottering  to  their  fall. 


SAMUEL. 

My  recent  letters  hardly  give  support 
To  such  an  apprehension.     'Twas  supposed, 
(Thus  ran  the  tidings  rfs  they  come  to  me,) 
That  by  the  favor  of  our  weightiest  Friends, 
Who  late  in  London  held  convening  sage, 
Some  modes  less  ri<nd  in  our  marriage  rules 

O  O 

Might  at  the  Annual  Gathering  be  approved. 
'Twas  further  rumored,  that  the  same  high  source 
Some  trifling  relaxation  might  ordain 
In  those  rcquirings  which  restrain,  so  close, 
Friends  in  the  matters  of  attire  and  speech. 

JEREMIAH. 

Such  is  indeed  the  fact ;  and,  knowing  this, 
Can  thee  the  purposed  consummation  view 
Without  the  deepest  sadness  and  alarm  ? 
To  me  it  heralds  overthrow  and  ruin. 
The  flood-gates  open  wide ;  the  worldly  waves 
Rush  unobstructed  and  relentless  in, 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  13 

And  sweep  before  them  every  thing  that  gives, 
To  those  who  hold  in  purity  our  faith, 
A  place  apart,  .distinctive  and  secure. 

SAMUEL. 

And  can  it  be  that  our  peculiar  speech, 
And  vestments  hued  and  fashioned  by  a  rule 
Made  of  an  accident,  with  no  support 
But  weak  tradition,  are  the  pillars  strong, 
Which  give  us  all  our  beauty  and  our  strength  ? 
Are  we  by  these  distinctive  and  secure  ? 
Are  we  defended  from  the  world's  array 
By  this  environment  of  garb  and  speech  ? 

JEREMIAH. 

Mournful  to  me  the  saddening  doubt  implied 
By  thy  bold  questioning.     Hear  the  holy  word, 
Bidding  us  not  to  this  vain  world  conform, 
But  bear  the  daily  cross,  denying  self; 
Despising  Fashion's  ignis  fatttus  light,  —       t 
Dazzling*  to  blind,  and  leading  to  betray. 

*  See  Note  A. 


14  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 


.-  \MUEL. 

N  this  the  measure  of  the  word  inspired, — 
"  Self  to  deny,  the  sacred  cross  to  bear  ;  " 
To  fix  the  cut  and  color  of  a  coat, 
Use  or  misuse  a  certain  form  of  speech, 
Making  that  holy  which  is  only  odd  ? 

J.EREMIAH. 

"  Be  not  conformed,"  the  sacred  page  repeats ; 
"  But  -be  ye  transformed  "  to  a  higher  life. 
Plainness  of  speech,  of  manners,  and  attire, 
Attest  the  weaning  of  the  Christian  heart 
From  worldly  pleasures^  honors,  and  pursuits. 

BAMTJEL. 

With  such  a  fruitage,  is  the  tree  secure 

From  questioning  inspired,  and  Truth's  decree,  — 

"  Cut,  cut  it  down ;  why  cumbereth  it  the  ground  .' " 

N  the  heart's  fealty  to  God  and  truth, 

A  Xaiour's  teachings  and  a  Saviour's  love, 

Proclaimed,  secured,  made 'manifest  to  all, 

When,  long  and  earnest  cogitation  o'er,    . 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  15 

Numbered  the  plaits,  the  front's  true  curve  secured, 
And  the  just  elevation  of  the  crown,  — 
The  bonnet,  —  raven  black  or  sober  drab, 
In  all  its  aspects,  gives  expression  true 
To  what  the  abrogated  wisdom  deems    • 

oo      o 

A  fitting  covering  for  the  friendly  head  ? 

JEREMIAH. 

What  says  the  discipline  ? 

SAMUEL. 

And  has  the  law  — 

The  gospel  law,  the  law  by  love  fulfilled  — 
And  the  blessed  ministry  of  the  daily  cross 
Done  all  their  work,  their  highest  triumph  found, 
When  singularity  of  diction  (called, 
By  strange  misnomer  and  assumption  bold, 
Plainness  of  speech)  is  by  a  pronoun  gained,  — 
Used  all  unlike  the  erring  world  around,  — 
And  saying  " John"  instead  of  "Mr"  Smith? 


16  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

JEREMIAH. 

And  does  thce  *  doubt  the  discipline  ? 

SAMUEL. 

'Twere  well 

Thus  to  conform  in  number,  if  the  case, 
In  cases  numberless,  were  not  so  oft 
Objectionable ;  when  the  objective  case, 
Supreme  above  its  banished  brothers  .twain, 
Objective,  nominative,  potsesrive  reigns. 

JEREMIAH. 

AVe  must,  thee  knows,  to  discipline  conform. 

SAMUEL. 

Sad  the  condition  of  the  man  who  lives 
A  stranger  to  the  beauty  of  the  cross,  — 
That  "  daily  dying  "  which  gives  daily  life,  — 
And  who  for  this  in  forms  and  creeds  and  rules 
Seeks  substitution.     Light  and  love  and  life 

*  Note  B. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  17 

Are  fled ;  and,  rapt  in  worldliness,  he  seeks 
In  forms,  the  fossils  of  departed  life, 
To  win  the  right  to  bear  the  Christian  name, 
And  find  a  Christian's  refuge  and  reward. 
Creeds,  metaphysics  of  a  bigot  brain, 
And  rules  and  forms,  —  the  sole  vitality 
Of  corporate  existence,  —  hold  the  place 
Of  instant  ministering  from  Wisdom's  fount. 
And  make  the  mystery  of  the  Spirit's  power 
A  thins?  of  <?arb  and  grammar. 

O  O  <— ' 

JEREMIAH. 

Thee's  doing  discipline  a  grievous  wrong. 

SAMUEL. 

Then  let  the  discipline  the  wrong  requite ; 
And,  when  thy  friend  is  under  dealing  brought 
For  dealing  honestly  with  it  and  thee, 
'Twere  well,  methiiiks,  to  give  him  in  the  dock  * 
The  fellowship  of  our  esteemed  Friend 
I3enajah  Luvchink,  —  him  thou  knowcst  deemed, 

*  Note  C. 
2 


18  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

Among  the  -weighty, 'weightiest.     In  his  walk 

And  conversation,  manners  and  address, 

He  is  an  incarnated  discipline, 

All  fearless  standing  at  each  month's  broadside 

Of  queries*  from  the  discipline  discharged. 

But  recently,  he  stood  within  the  yard 

Where  his  new  ship  is  building.     Long  discourse 

He  held  with  Thomas,  master-workman  there, 

Touching  the  merits  of  a  mighty  stick 

To  form  the  stern-post.     Sorrowing,  he  had  seen 

A  small  defect,  and  had  the  master  called 

The  spot  to  view,  and  talk  the  matter  o'er. 

Pending  the  question,  lo,  the  hour  arrived 

When  Friend  Benajah  must  to  meeting  go. 

He  went,  and  duly  greeted  all  the  Friends ; 

And  then,  with  features  fitted  to  the  place, 

His  body  seated  and  his  mind  composed. 

No  movement  broke  the  solemn  stillness  there  : 

We  passed  in  silence  the  accustomed  hour. 

The  extended  hand  the  parting  signal  gave, 

And  Friend  Benajah  to  his  home  repaired. 

*  Note  D. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  19 

His  frugal  meal  despatched,  with,  quickened  step 
He  sought  the  timbered  yard ;  and,  on  the  oak 
AVnose  imperfections  had  his  trouble  made, 
He  found  the  master  seated ;  who  at  once 
Thus  his  employer  greeted  :  "  It  will  do." 
"It  will,  no  doubt,"  Benajah  quick  replied  : 
"I've  thought  about  it  all  our  meeting-time."* 

JEREMIAH. 

Thrift  is  a  virtue  in  Benajah's  eyes, 
And  thoughtful  prudence  is  the  ministry 
By  which  it  lives. 

SAMUEL. 

Thrift,  thus  exalted  high, 

Claims  its  full  share  of  homage ;  and  the  hour 
We  to  devotion  give  may  well  be  spent 
In  solemn  cogitation  how  to  save 
A  stern-post  from  the  wood-pile. 

*  Note  E 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 


JEREMIAH. 

Thee  is  wrong 

Thus  to  decry  the  testimony  strong 
Of  weighty  Friends  now  gone  to  their  reward,  — 
Barclay  and  Fox  and  Pennington  and  Penn, — 
And  hosts  of  others,  faithful  to  the  end.* 

SAMUEL. 

Spare  mb  thy  music :  no  occasion  calls 

For  this  display  of  tuneful  exhortation. 

Thou  art  not  now  upon  the  rising-seat. 

Murray  and  Goold  (both  weighty  Friends),  well 

known 

At  Haverford,  at  Providence  as  well, 
Have  taught  that  English  grammar  is  the  art 
Correctly  to  express  by  speech  or  pen 
The  English  language.     Pass  the  syntax  by  ; 
The  tax  too  great  the  chronic  sin  to  cure 
Of  daily  violations  of  the  laws 
Of  speech,  in  case  and  number,  numberless. 

•  Note  F. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  21 

But  speech  has  other  laws,  —  by  nature  formed, 

By  wisdom  perfected,  and  use  ordained. 

By  these,  when   reason   clothes    the    thought   in 

words, 

When  feeling  to  its  gushings  utterance  gives, 
"When  passion  flashes  and  when  mercy  pleads, 
And  indignation  thunders  its  behest, 
All  speech  is  governed ;  and  each  living  word 
Flies  on  its  embassy  of  weal  or  woe, 
Winged  by  the  potency  of  utterance  clear, 
A  graceful  manner,  and  an  earnest  soul ; 
And,  by  an  intonation  richly  robed, 
Like  beauty  by  the  sculptor's  chisel  traced. 

JEREMIAH. 

Thy  words,  my  friend,  sound  strangely  to  my  ear. 

SAMUEL. 

Dost  miss  the  twang  conventional,  the  tone 
Which,  by  some  instinct  or  some  custom  strange, 
So  oft  our  public  ministrations  make 
Revolting  violations  of  the  rules 
Which  nature,  law,  and  usage  have  ordained  ? 


22  QUAKER   QUIDDITIES. 

How  painful  and  how  futile,  when  the  voice 

Ranges  the  gamut  in  a  single  word, 

And  touches  every  discord  on  the  track ! 

How  often  exhortations  are  sent  forth 

With  such  negations  strange  in  tone  and  speech 

Of  all  propriety,  that  they  become 

Grating  to  hear,  and  impotent  for  good ! 

From  such  exhortings,  neither  said  nor  sung,  — 

Alike  removed  from  poetry  or  prose,  — 

Impinging  on  the  doubting,  troubled  ear 

With  sounds  which  bear  no  message  to  the  brain, 

When  shall  we  be  delivered  ?     Could  I  speak 

With  Cowper's  tongue,   I   would,    like    Cowper, 

plead 

With  those  who  sacred  supervision  keep 
O'er  such  as  minister  in  sacred  things,* 
From  ministrations  such  as  these  to  save 
The  gatherings  of  our  people. 

JEREMIAH. 

'T would  be  strange 
To  hear  the  speaking  from  our  rising-seats, 

•  Note  G. 


QUAKE*    QUIDDITIES.  2 

Like  recitations  in  a  public  school, 
Or  social  readings  at  our  quiet  homes, 
Or  hireling  sermons  from  the  pulpit  sped, 
Without  that  solemnizing,  measured  tone 
Which  marks  its  coming  from  a  sacred  source. 

SAMUEL. 

Which  marks  its  coming  from  a  sacred  source  ! 
Did.  the  Great  Teacher  speak  the  word  of  life 
With  a  rude  sing-song,  indolent  as  rude  ? 
When  Felix  trembled,  and  when  Athens  heard 
From  Paul  the  message  of  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
Did  he,  the  noblest  soul  that  ever  bore 
That  message  to  an  erring,  suffering  world, 
Dole  out  his  reasonings  awful  and  sublime, 
Like  strop-man  at  his  improvised  bazaar, 
Like  show-man  with  his  stereotyped  harangue, 
Or  half-crazed  preacher  at  camp-meeting  found  ? 

JEREMIAH. 

The  matter  weighty,  why  the  manner  heed  ? 
He  who  the  Leader  follows  cannot  pause 
To  <nvt  his  thought  to  utterance  and  tone. 

O  O 


~4  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

SAMUEL. 

Such  was  ////?  answer,  whose  discordant  tones 

Revolting  fell  upon  the  startled  ear, 

And  closed  all  access  to  the  mind  and  heart. 

He  who  with  quickened  thought,  by  love  inspired, 

Burns  with  a  message  to  my  waiting  soul, 

Pails  in  his  high  commission,  if  it  comes 

AVith  such  environment  of  tone  and  speech, 

That  sense  and  taste  in  joint  rebellion  rise, 

And  bar  its  entrance. 

JEREMIAH. 

Surely,  Truth  Divine 
Needs  not  the  foreign  aid  of  ornament.* 

SAMUEL. 

Spare  me,  Friend  Austen,  this  unmeaning  cant. 
Truth,  Truth  Divine,  whenever  she  commands 
The  ministration  of  the  human  thought, 
Claims  all  that  thought  and  reason  can  impart 

*  Note  H. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  25 

To  give  her  word  attractiveness  and  power. 

Would  that  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Word, 

So  oft  recited,  and  which  often  make 

Of  our  prelections  the  potential  part, 

And  all  that  "  Highest  Wisdom  "  may  supply 

Of  exhortation,  could  an  utterance  find 

Like  that  which  listening  crowds  enamoured  hear, 

When    SHAKSPEARE    through   the   gifted  Kemble 

speaks, 

Dewey  interprets  COLERIDGE'S*  mystic  page, 
And  ShaWj*  with  genius  kindred  to  their  own, 
Unveils  the  beauties  of  the  BROWNINGS'  song ! 
Shall  elocution  lavish  all  its  skill, 
In  making  patent  to  the  common  thought, 
The  gifts  of  genius  to  the  world  of  mind  / 
Leaving  to  rude,  untutored  tone  and  speech 
The  words  of  sacred  prophecy  and  song, 
The  matchless  teachings  of  the  Saviour's  lips, 
Paul's  earnest  letters  and  his  speech  sublime. 
When  he  the  gifted,  he  the  silver-tongued, 
The  elocutionist  without  a  peer, 

*  Note  I. 


26  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

Speaks  to  the  people  of  the  peerless  one, 
And  bids  the  Father  of  his  Country  hail,* 
How  apt  each  word  !  its  utterance  how  clear  ! 
How  rich  and  full  of  meaning  every  tone  ! 
While  grace  of  attitude  and  motion  join' 
With  the  mute  eloquence  of  eye  and  face 
To  crown  the  speaker  AUTOCRATOR  there.   . 

JEREMIAH. 

Thy  speech  is  strange  :  I  do  not  understand. 
What  names  are  these  of  which  I  hear  thee  speak  ? 
Shakspeare     and    Coleridge,    Browning,    Dewey, 

Shaw, 
Kcmblc,  and  Autocrat,  —  are  they  public  Friends  ? 

SAMUEL. 

Some  to  the  public  are  not  quite  unknown  ; 
Although  the  liberty  of  jpen  and  speech 
Came  in  no  shape  the  discipline  approves,  — 
Certificate,  in  form,  and  duly  signed, 
Of  meetings,  yearly,  quarterly,  select, 
Monthly,  preparative,  for  sufferings,  f 

*  Note  J.  t  Note  K. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  £7 

-~N 

The  right  conferring  on  the  favored  one 
To  be  a  teacher  to  his  fellow-man. 

JEREMIAH. 

Thee  spoke  of  Shakspeare,  and  of  Brownings'  sang. 
Songs  and  their  writers  cannot  hold  a  place 
Approved  and  cherished  in  the  thoughts  of  Friends. 

SAMUEL. 

Then  let  us  banish  from  our  hearts  and  homes 
The  Judean  records.     Let  us  quick  disown 
Whittier,*  the  gifted  son  of  song,  whose  lays 
Have  the  true  lyric  ring ;  and  who,  in  lines 
As  touching  and  as  sweet  as  Burns  ere  sunsr, 

O  o^ 

Pays  heartfelt  homage  to  his  brother-bard,  — 

Scotland's  dear  minstrel,  of  the  world  beloved. 

Remembercst  thou  when  we  were  at  a  school, 

A  half  a  century  or  more  ago, 

Founded,  endowed,  and  managed  by  the  Friends 

Of  Massachusetts  ?     Elam  was  its  friend. 

He  gave  his  money ;  and,  a  richer  gift, 

*  Note  L. 


*O  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

lie  gave  his  books,  —  collection  rich  and  rare  : 

But,  ere  from  Flam's  island-home  they  reached 

The  academic  'hall,  the  Flam  books 

Must  an  expurgatory  process  know 

By  the  stern  censorship  that  kept  the  gate 

To  bar  the  entrance  of  all  hurtful  things ; 

And,  when  the  longed-for  treasures  were  revealed, 

The  "  Briti.sk  Poets  "  had  been  ostracized, 

And  SIIAKSPEARE  minuted  contraband,*  and — sold ! 

JEREMIAH. 

"  Judean  records  ;  "  "  Whittier,  gifted  son ;  " 

"  Scotland's     dear    minstrel  ;  "     "  Shakspearc  ; '' 

"  British  Poets/'  — 

Why  speak  of  these  ?     For  what  they  have  to  do 
With  Friends,  or  with  the  tidings  from  abroad, 
I  understand  not.     I  was  moved  to  say, 
That  'twas  with  apprehension  and  alarm 
I  heard  the  rumor  of  the  mournful  change 
Which  makes  our  customs,  bulwarks  of  the  church, 
By  which  we  stand  distinctive  and  select,  — 

*  Note  M. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  29 

Plainness  of  speech,  of  manners,  and  of  dress,  — 
No  longer  hold  unquestioned  and  revered 
Their  high  position.     Plainly  can  I  see, 
With  thee  these  apprehensions  have  no  place, 
My  anxious  fears  110  sympathy.     How  long, 
This  overturning  spirit  unrestrained, 
Shall  we  retain  our  form,  so  highly  prized, 
Of  silent  -worship  ? 

SAMUEL. 

Worship  has  no  form. 

To  sit,  to  kneel,  to  stand,  to  speak,  to  think, 
Determine  not  the  spirit's  attitude. 
Speech  may  be  silver,  silence  may  be  gold, 
And  both  be  sounding  or  unsounding  brass. 

O  O 

We  dust  our  knees ;  but  no  repentant  dust 
Dims  the  bright  polish  of  our  self-conceit. 
A  "  tinkling  cymbal "  were  a  sure  relief 
From  drowsy  Silence,  as  she  slowly  moves 
Her  leaden  sceptre  o'er  a  slumbering  band,* 
Convened  and  ranged  in  form  and  order  due. 

*  Note  N. 


30  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

JEREMIAH. 

Then  what  is  worship  ? 

SAMUEL. 

Tell  me  what  is  not, 
When  on  the  bosom  of  the  Infinite 
The  spirit  rests  submissively  and  meek ; 
"\Vhcn  the  heart  finds  its  daily  meat  and  drink  — 
Its  will  subdued,  its  wishes,  hopes,  desires, 
Moving  in  union  with  the  Will  Divine  — 
In  daily  homage  to  the  Eternal  Love. 
All  work  of  God,  commanded  or  allowed, 
Is  worship,  when,  by  right  divine,  the  soul 
Joins  in  the  sympathy  that  wakes  the  harps 
Of  choirs  angelic  round  the  eternal  throne. 

JEREMIAH. 

Remember  what  the  Sacred  Record  says  : 

"  Be  still,  O  man  !  and  know  that  I  am  God." 

SAMUEL. 

Man  may  "  be  still,"  and  yet  he  may  not  "  know." 
Hast  yet  to  learn  that  silence  has  no  power 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  31 

To  grapple  with  the  importunities 

Somniferous,  which,  on  soft-cushioned  seats, 

Bind  and  subdue  the  willing  captives  there  ? 

Silence  no  charm  or  conjuration  wields 

To  exorcise  the  demon  of  the  world, 

When  he  appears,  companion  unrebuked, 

Of  faces  formal,  elongate,  and  sad. 

Silence  may  reign  when  at  the  chosen  place 

The  people  meet  collectively  to  "  wait 

Upon  the  Lord."     Some  wait  awhile,  and  then 

To  Somnus  quietly  their  homage  yield, 

And,  by  a  nod,  unconscious  worship  pay. 

Some  wait  a  moment ;  and,  when  all  is  still, 

They  hear  the  whistle  of  the  railroad!  train,  — 

Railroad  "  Celestial,"  *  —  whose  conductor,  full 

Of  complaisance  and  prudence,  has  prepared 

A  car  for  those  who  in  a  quiet  way 

A  little  work  "  terrestrial  "  would  perform,  — 

Accommodation  great  for  those  who  think 

The  whole  fii'st  day  too  large  a  sacrifice. 

They  mount ;    and  now  there's   sterner  work  in 

hand 

Than  comes  of  single  stern-posts.     On  they  speed, 
*  Note  0. 


32  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

And  build  the  thick-ribbed  ship  from  stem  to  stern ; 
Launch  her,  and  load,  and  send  her  on  her  way, 
And  bring  her  back,  a  golden  harvest  won. 
Thus    "  some    renew    their    strength "  by  balmy 

sleep ; 

And  some  "  mount  upwards  "  as  on  golden  wings, 
Beholding  visions  of  increasing  gain. 
Thus  these  to  Mammon,  those  to  Morpheus,  bow : 
'Tis  thus  they  "  wait,"   and   thus  they  are   "  re 
newed." 

Better  the  "  long-drawn  aisle  and  fretted  vault," 
The  painted  window  and  the  vestured  priest, 
The  swelling  organ  and  the  hireling  song  ; 
Better  the  Liturgy's  unvarying  ^ound ; 
Better  the  Mass  misguided  masses  seek ; 
Better  the  closet's  deeply  studied  lore, 
AVith  unimpassioncd  utterance  discharged; 
Better  the  rude,  unmeaning  dance  and  song, 
The  Shaker's  safety- valve  for  false  restraint ; 
Better  the  harmonics  of  flute  and  horn 
Heard  at  Moravian  worship  ;  better  far 
The  songs  and  shoutings  and  the  loud  amens 
At  crowded  vestries  and  camp-meetings  heard. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  33 

JEREMIAH. 

Our  speech  and  silence  are  alike  condemned. 

SAMUEL. 

Nor  speech,  nor  silence  are  by  me  condemned. 

The  spirit's' homage  to  the  Infinite  Good, 

By  adoration  or  obedience  paid, 

Is  worship,  waiting :  they  who  worship  wait, 

And  they  who  truly  wait  are  worshippers. 

Forms  are  but  servitors  to  lift  the  gates 

To  let  the  King  of  glory  enter  in,  — 

The  needful  aids  of  doubting,  struggling  faith. 

JEREMIAH. 

Wouldst  rouse  our  sleepers  by  an  organ-peal  ? 
By  forms  liturgic  keep  the  world  at  bay  ? 
And  help  the  halting  by  a  painted  wall  ? 
Where,  then,  our  high  distinctions  ?     Where  our 

claim 

To  nearest  access  to  the  Infinite  Mind 
In  silent  waiting  ?     Where  the  hisrhcr  claim 

o  o 

Of  instant  guidance  by  the  Master's  -hand 
In  every  act  of  prophecy  and  praise  ? 


34  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 


SAMUEL. 

Oh  !    spare  the  "  higli  distinction,"  —  spare  the 

"  claim ; " 

The  bigot's  solace  and  the  sectarist's  boast. 
~\\  here  our  distinction  in  the  eyes  of  Him 
AVho  seeth,  knoweth,  loveth,  kcepeth  all ' 
The  mind  of  God  is  known  to  them  alone 
Who  do  the  Father's  will.     To  him  unknown 
All  geographic,  all  sectarian  bounds,  — 
His  tender  mercies  over  all  his  works. 
The  life  of  God  within  the  soul  of  man 
Feeds  not  upon- the  interpretation  dim 
Of  music's  strain,  though  Handel  press  the  keys ; 
Of  highest  plastic  or  pictorial  art 
Of  SAN/IO  *  or  of  BUONAROTTI  *  bom  ; 
Or  iterated  flow  of  solemn  speech, 
Echoed  by  swelling  dome  or  pillared  aisle. 
God  is  his  own  interpreter ;  and,  when 
The  Sacred  Presence  f  fires  the  waiting  soul, 
Or  be  there  spepch  or  silence,  there  is  known 

»  Note  P.  t  Note  Q. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  35 

The  full  fruition  of  immortal  joy. 
Holy  the  flame  that  on  the  altar  glows, 

By  fire  celestial  kindled  and  supplied. 

• 
Presumptuous  man,  with  sacrilegious  hand, 

Would  fain  its  sacred  heat  and  light  apply 
To  gild  and  vivify  his  lifeless  forms  : 
Device  Promethean*  to  give  his  work 
The  heavenly  impress  of  the  life  divine. 
Man  in  his  manliness,  when  reason's  light 
Shines  with  the  radiance  of  its  Primal  Source, 
Reigns  autocrat  within  his  own1  domain. 
His  high  prerogatives  by  God  bestowed, 
God  will,  himself,  acknowledge  and  protect. 
'Twcre  well  to  heed  the  teachings  of  the  rule 
Rhetorical,  by  ancient  wisdom  penned, 
For  those  who  dared  the  heights  of  epic  song  : 
The  gods  should  never  on  the  earth  appear, 
Except  their  work  be  godrtkc.-f     Let  us  not 
Place  on  our  rules  and  forms  conventional 
The  image  and  the  superscript  divine. 
The  precepts  of  our  fathers  bear  no  seal 
The  wisdom  of  the  children  may  not  break. 


*  Note  R.  t  Note  S. 


36  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

Open  to  bold  revision  every  form 

Of  marriage  rite,  of  language,  and  of  dress. 

True  to  the  inward  life,  we  shall  not  need 

The  organ's  peal  or  hireling's  speech  or  song 

To  lead  our  spirits  in  the  solemn  act 

Of  public  worship.     We  shall  ever  find 

Nearness  of  access  to  the  Infinite  Mind, 

When  silently  we  wait ;  in  every  act 

Of  exhortation,  prayer,  or  praise,  shall  know 

The  instant  guidance  of  the  Master's  hand. 

JEREMIAH. 

Farewell !     To-day  the  men's  committee  meet, 
Appointed  in  the  case  of  Thomas  Swift1, 
Charged  with  a  serious  breach  of  discipline, 
In  having  at  his  house,  for  instant  use, 
A  stringed  instrument,  piano  called.* 

SAMUEL. 

Farewell !  and,  when  you  deal  with  Thomas  Swift, 
Remember  good.  King  David  had  the  same 
At  home,  and  in  the  holy  temple  too. 

*  Note  T. 


NOTES. 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A. 

"  That  leads. to  bewilder,  and  dazzles  to  blind." 

My  change  in  Beattie's  beautiful  line  is  no  improve 
ment.  Had  the  rhythm  conformed,  I  should  have  left 
it  unchanged.  I  allude  to  it,  that  the  confession  of  the 
plagiarism  may,  as  in  other  cases  of  larceny,  abate 
the  punishment. 

NOTE  B. 

"  And  does  thee  doubt  the  discipline?  " 

I  allow  Friend  Jeremiah  to  speak  after  his  own  fa 
shion.  This  chronic  form  of  diseased  speech  seems  to 
admit  of  no  cure.  Friends  should  legalize  it  by  having 
it  recognized  in  the  next  editions  of  Murray  and 
Goold. 

NOTE  C.       0 

"  'Twere  well,  methinks,  to  give  him  in  the  dock." 

Webster  defines  a  dock  to  be  "  the  place  where  a 
criminal  stands  in  court."  Such  a  place  has  but  a  figu 
rative  existence  in  monthly -meeting  proceedings  under 


40 


QIVKER    QUIDDITIES. 


the  discipline  code;  but  such  proceedings  sometimes  put 
people  in  a  tight  place. 

NOTE  D. 
"  Of  queries  from  the  discipline  discharged." 

I  hope,  when  the  time  shall  come  for  our  code  to  be 
revised,  that  the  matter  contained  in  the  queries  will 
be  changed  from  its  interrogatory  to  a  declaratory  form. 
It  is,  no  doubt,  highly  proper  that  the  sleepirtg-in-meet- 
ing  business  should  have  attention  certainly  as  often  as 
once  a  month ;  but  it  would,  I  think,  save  some  hard 
straining  for  answers,  and  be  quite  as  effective,  if  in 
place  of  the  usual  query,  "  Are  Friends  careful  to 
abstain  from  sleeping  in  meeting?  "  a  declaration  should 
be  solemnly  made,  that  no  person,  indulging  in  the 
habit  of  sleeping  during  the  hour  of  worship,  has  any 
right  to  a  seat  in  an  assembly  convened  for  that  purpose. 
And  so  of  other  matters  contained  in  the  queries. 

NOTE  E. 
"  I've  thought  about  it  all  our  meeting-time." 

Founded  on  fact.  We  might  probably  multiply  the 
number  of  Benaiahs,  were  all  as  candid. 

NOTE  F. 

It  is  not  in  my  power  to  introduce  the  musical  nota 
tion  to  describe  Friend  Jeremiah's  style  of  speaking. 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  '  41 

At  present,  we  are  not,  at  our  school,  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  do,  re,  me,  &c. ;  so  I  cannot  in  the  text  give 
any  idea  of  this  (to  me)  most  revolting  sing-song.  It«is 
astonishing  that  persons  of  fair  intellectual  attainments, 
who  everywhere  else,  and  at  all  times  beside,  speak  with 
a  natural  tone,  and  in  a  simple  and  unaffected  manner, 
should,  the  moment  they  open  their  lips  on  the  rising-seat, 
ignore  all  the  laws  of  elocution  and  common  sense.  What 
would  be  thought  of  a  member  of  the  first  class  in  read 
ing,  at  Providence  School,  if  he  should  read  an  extract 
from  Macaulay  or  Milton  after  the  manner  so  often 
presented  to  him  from  the  high-seat  ?  If  the  training  of 
the  school  is  ever  of  any  value,  it  certainly  must  be  when 
its  recipient  takes  the  position  of  a  public  religious 
teacher.  He  has  no  right  to  set  aside  the  rules  by 
which,  through  all  time',  the  spoken  word  has  been 
rendered  effective.  If  he  would  give  his  message  its 
greatest  force,  he  must  send  it  forth  with  all  those 
accompaniments  which  the  world  has  recognized  as  the 
laws  of  successful  utterance.  Two  reasons  may  be 
given  for  this  almost  universal  habit :  I  mean,  of  course, 
among  the  ministers  of  our  society.  The  first  is,  that 
it  is  easy. .  It  requires  very  much  less  effort  to  send 
forth  our  words  in  this  "  rude  sing-song,"  than  it  does  to 
give  them  the  emphasis  and  intonation  a  perfect  elocu 
tion  requires.  Believing  this,  I  have  ventured  to  use 
the  word  indolent  in  connection  with  this  habit.  But, 
when  Jeremiah  speaks  of  the  tone  which  marks  the 


•1:2  Ql'AKKH    UVIDDITIES. 

sacred  source  of  the  words,  he  makes  a  declaration  of  a 
fact  widely  existing  among  us;  and  this  is  the  second 
neaxni.  J  cannot  here  speak  as  I  think  the  subject 
requires,  of  this  deeply-seated  hut  most  absurd  and  most 
unfortunate  notion.  The  term  I  have  used  may  seem 
undignified,  but  it  is  not  improper.  It  is  nothing  but 
a  notion  to  believe  that  there  can  be  any  peculiar  so 
lemnity  attached  to  an  intonation  which  sets  at  defiance 
all  the  laws  of  speech. 

It  it  but  just  for  me  to  say,  that  all  our  public  speak 
ers  do  not  thus  offend. 

The  members  of  the  Providence  School  often  hear,  at 
the  school  and  in  the  city,  speaking  from  Providence 
Friends,  the  manner  of  which  does  them  no  discredit  as 
official  advisers  in  the  government  of  two  of  the  highest 
educational  institutions  of  the'  State  of  Rhode  Island. 

The  gifted  young  woman,  who  sometimes  visits  us 
from  Southern  Massachusetts,  has  been,  when  I  have 
heard  her,  as  perfect  in  her  intonation  as  she  was  sweet 
in  her  tones  and  correct  and  elegant  in  her  language. 
Her  exhortations  lose  none  of  their  solemnity  by  the 
da-Heal  purity  of  their  language,  or  the  truthful  modu 
lation  of  her  musical  periods. 

One  other  I  would  name ;  and  he,  too,  is  from  the 
same  section  of  country.  That  young  man,  whose 
voice  I  have  often  heard,  and  always  heard  with  profit 
and  delight,  at  our  yearly  meetings,  has  risen  superior 
to  that  pressure  of  custom  and  tradition  which  has  led 
a-tray  >o  many  of  our  ministers.  Of  all  our  public 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  43 

speakers,  I  have  heard  no  one  who  comes  to  his  work 
with  so  large  a  share  of  the  proprieties  of  speech.  It  is 
evident  that  he  regards  it  as  a  duty  to  give  to  his  mini 
strations  all  the  aid  that  is  to  be  derived  from  purity  of 
language,  an  easy  and  graceful  manner,  a  clear  enuncia 
tion,  and  an  intonation  in  harmony  with  the  meaning 
of  his  words.  I  may  be  allowed,  in  close,  to  remark, 
that  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  example  of  these  public 
Friends  from  New  Bedford  and  Nantucket  will  not  be 
withoiit  its  influence  in  the  society. 

NOTE  G. 

"  Could  I  speak 
With  Cowper's  tongue,  I  would,  like  Co \vper,  plead." 

Hear  how  Cowper  pleads  :  — 

"  From  such  apostles,  0  ye  mitred  heads ! 
Preserve  the  church;  and  lay  not  careless  hands 
On  skulls  that  cannot  teach,  and  will  not  learn." 

NOTE  H. 

"Needs  not  the  foreign  aid  of  ornament." 

Another  larceny ;  but  I  cannot  now  say  from  whom. 
It  is  a  line  Jeremiah  would  be  likely  to  remember. 

» 

NOTE  I. 

I  name  the  public  readers  I  have  heard.     The  kins 
woman  of  the  Siddons  must,  I  suppose,  be  allowed  the 


44  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 

highest  place.  Mary  Dewey,  daughter  of  the  Doctor,  is 
a  fine  reader.  Hood  is  more  than  ever  Hood,  when 
she  stands  interpreter.  The  reading  of  the  "  Ancient 
Mariner  "  came  nearly  up  to  the  highest  standard.  Emily 
Shaw  is  the  daughter  of  the  Hon.  John  Shaw  of  Nan- 
tucket.  In  scenes  of  deep  pathos,  she  excels  both  the 
others.  The  reading  of  the  death  of  Jo,  from  Dickens's 
"  Bleak^I louse,"  was  a  performance  I  have  never  heard 
equalled.  The  minutest  shades  of  thought  and  feeling 
are  developed  in  the  light  of  her  clear,  full,  distinct 
utterance  and  faultless  intonation,  and  by  a  correspond 
ing  expression  of  feature,  which  is  the  most  attractive 
and  astonishing  characteristic  of  this  gifted  lady.  The 
versatility  of  her  powers  enables  her  to  give  with  equal 
and  almost  unequalled  truthfulness  and  effect  the  coarse 
originality  of  Toby  Belch,  and  the  exquisite  tenderness 
and  deep  contrition  of  Mildred  Tresham:  — 

"I  —  I  was  so  young! 
Beside,  I  loved  him,  Thorold  —  and  I  had 
Xo  mother  —  God  forgot  me  —  so  I  fell." 

These  graces  of  delivery  I  regard  as  qualities  of  the 
highest  value.  To  despise  and  reject  them  is  to  cast 
away  the  most  effective  aids  to  our  public  religious 
teachings. 

NOTE  J. 

"  And  bids  the  Father  of  his  Country  hail." 

This  line  is  not  mine  ;  at  any  rate,  not  the  whole  of 
it.  As  it  stands,  it  well  answers  my  purpose ;  for  it  shows 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  45 

that  I  am  speaking  of  Edward  Everett.     Emerson  says 
of  him,  that  he  is  the  greatest  elocutionist  of  the  age. 

NOTE  K. 

This  list  of  meetings  is  almost  as  difficult  to  versify  as 
Homer's  Catalogue,  which  is  such  a  puzzle  to  the 
translators ;  but  I  believe  I  have  named  them  all.  The 
meeting  For  Sufferings  was  so  called,  in  England,  be 
cause  one  ojf  its  most  important  duties  is  to  extend  the 
care  and  aid  of  the  society  in  cases  where  suffering  fol 
lows  an  adherence  to  duty.  It  is  expected  that  all 
writings  in  reference  to  the  principles  and  usages  of  the 
society  will  be  submitted  to  this  meeting  before  publica 
tion.  Therefore  it  is  that  the  writer  of  this  little  book 
is  an  offender,  should  there  not  be  an  offending  line 
in  it. 

NOTE  L. 

"  Whittier,  the  gifted  son  of  song,  whose  lays 
Have  the  true  lyric  ring." 

I  know  not  what  the  booksellers  say  ;  but  my  belief 
is,  that  the  poems  of  Whittier  have  had  a^more  exten 
sive  and  powerful  influence  upon  the  minds  of  the  people 
than  the  writings  of  any  other  American  poet.  He  is 
the  New-England  Lyrist.  He  has  shown  us  the  potency 
of  the  lyric  power,  and  how  effective  it  is  when  wielded 
in  the  support  of  freedom  and  truth.  For  the  first  time 


46  <JT  \K1.U    QUIDDITIES. 

in  its  history,  the  Society  of  Friends  has  produced  a 
poet ;  and  not  only  produced,  but  pardoned.  The  lyrist 
having  made  his.  way  into  our  homes,  the  lyre  must  soon 
follow.  The  painter  lias  also  made  a  lodgment,  lie 
who  looks  upon  the  beautiful  painting  by  Bradford  of 
Fairhaven,  now  on  exhibition  at  the  National  Gallery 
in  Xcw  York,  with  the  slightest  ability  of  appreciation, 
will  not  only  feel  that  the  production  of  such  a  work  is 
a  well-directed  exercise  of  man's  highest  and  most 
enlarged  ability,  but  that  the  taste  that  it  educates  and 
gratifies  is  one  that  is  intended  by  Him  who  thus  en 
dowed  us  to  be  cultivated  and  enjoyed.  I  hope  I  shall 
be  pardoned  for  using  the  word  "  lyrist,"  as  meaning  not 
only  the  singer,  but  the  maker,  of  the  lyric. 

NOTE  M. 

"  The  '  British  Poets'  had  been  ostracized, 
And  Shakspeare  minuted  contraband,  and  —  sold !  " 

Fact:  so  says  a  Friend  who  has  seen  the  minute,. 
This  was  not,  however,  directly  a  society  matter.  It 
was  the  Board  of  Friendly  Trustees  who  decided  that 
the  Library  of  the  Friends'  Academy  must  not  contain 
the  dangerous  volumes.  Whittier  was  not  a  member 
of  the  Board. 

NOTE  N. 

Young  wrote, — 

"  Her  leaden  sceptre  o'er  a  slumbering  world ;  "  — 


QUAKER    QUIDDITIES.  47 

and  he  wrote  it  so  nearly  right  for  me,  that  I  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  to  appropriate  it,  Avith  a  trifling 
change. 

Considering  this,  and  the  several  other  lines  which 
a  pretty  retentive  memory,  joined  with  some  small  abi 
lity  of  appreciation,  have  enabled  me  to  work  into  the 
homely  texture  of  my  verse  from  the  writings  of  the 
poets,  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  colloquy  has  some 
good  lines  in  it. 

NOTE  O. 

"Railroad  '  Celestial,'  whose  conductor,  full 
Of  complaisance  and  pru.dence,*has  prepared.'' 

Hawthorne  has  given  us  a  striking  description  of  the 
Celestial  Railroad.  According  to  his  account,  arrange 
ments  have  been  made  for  carrying  on  nearly  every 
kind  of  terrestrial  traffic  in  these  cars. 

NOTE  P. 

"  Of  Sanzio  or  of  Buonarotti  born." 

Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo.  The  rhythm  made  it 
difficult  to  use  the  more  commonly  known  names  of 
these  great  men. 

NOTE  Q. 

"  And  when  a  sense  of  sacred  presence  fires,"  — 
wrote  the  great  and  good  Dr.  Johnson. 


48  QUAKER    QUIDDITIES. 


NOTE  R. 

"  Device  Promethean,  to  give  his  work 
•     The  heavenly  impress  of  the  life  divine." 

Man  is  ever  prone  to  imitate  the  Titan,  and  lay  hold , 
of  the  heavenly  fire  to  animate  his  own   handiwork. 
How  often  is  our  own  ecclesiastical  machinery  regarded 
as  holding  its  life  through  the  direct  agency  of  heaven. 

NOTE   S. 

"  The  g<)ds  should  never  on  the  eartli  appear, 
Except  their  work  be  godlike." 

Blair  states  Aristotle's  rule  thus :  "  Never  permit  a 
god  to  appear  but  on  an  occasion  worthy  of  a  god." 

NOTE  T. 

"  A  stringed  instrument,  piano  called." 

Notwithstanding  the  earnestness  and  eloquence  of 
Samuel,  Jeremiah  is  thinking  more  about  removing  that 
stringed  instrument  from  Friend  Swift's  house,  or  dis 
owning  him  for  keeping  it  there,  than  about  weightier 
matters.  We  have  many  of  these  mint,  anise,  and 
cumin  members.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  may  as  well 
state  that  Thomas  was  disowned.  The  time,  I  believe, 
is  not  far  distant,  when  Shakspeare  will  not  be  banished 
from  the  library,  or  the  piano  from  the  parlor. 


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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  754  847     2 


